BLOODHOUND #1: The Abdicated Prince

Luna Morris

"I still can't believe that you're here!" Daisy clapped her hands proudly. I grabbed my shot glass, giving her a nod before inhaling the sting liquid.

I closed my eyes, feeling the alcohol burning my throat. "I can't believe it either." You let out a long sigh. "It still feels like a dream."

Daisy put down her shot glass, grabbed both of my hands and held it tightly like I was on the cliff's edge. "I'm so proud of you."

"Me too."

"Did you contact your grandparents?" She asked as she released her grip on my hands. You nodded at her and turned your head to the bartender, asking for another shot.

"I did."

"What did they say?"

"That they will visit me next month and that they're hoping for me to make lots of new friends." The bartender put a new shot in front of me, my fingers reached for it, but Daisy stole it.

"Hey!"

"I'm the only friend you need, instead of making new friends. You should find a boyfriend." She wiggled her eyebrows and gave me a teasing look. Her eyes then scanned the room, and I didn't even bother to follow her eyes.

"Three more, please..." I said to the bartender. I got an annoyed look in return.

"So... Do you still prefer your type when you were in London, or do you want to make a new type here?" She was still busy looking around, and I shook my head.

"I'm here to continue my career, not to get married." The bartender put the new three shots in front of me perfectly aligned. I glanced at Daisy, who was still busy checking out all the available men in the room.

I drank all the shots in one go, which made my throat burn so bad. "You're an idiot! Why would you do that?!" Daisy pinched my arm.

"Hey! What was that for?!" I rubbed my arm, where she pinched me. I glared at her so hard that she rolled her eyes at me before returning to her hunt.

"Tell me about your work again. I wasn't paying attention," I asked Daisy to stop her from trying to find me, someone, to get laid.

"I told you I'm working on a new project in the making..." Daisy started to ramble about her crazy work as an architect. Daisy and I met at a cafe in Paris 5 years ago. I was traveling alone to find inspiration for my work and accidentally bumped into a jet-black-haired woman dressed like she was going to a fashion show.

I almost spilled my hot chocolate onto her dress that day, but thank God I didn't.

She was fascinated by my eyes that she asked me if I was traveling alone, and I told her that I was. We decided to get lunch together and clicked right away. Ever since then, we have talked almost every day.

She was born and raised in Seattle, so when I moved out of London, she begged me to come here. She even gave me a presentation about Seattle. After months of thinking about it, I decided to go for it.

It's now or never.

I had to move out and never look back.

"Luna, stopppppppp..." Daisy tried to stop my 32nd shot, or was it the 31st? You pushed her hand away and drank it. Put down the glass savagely and ordered more.

"Oh God..." I closed my eyes.

"You're drunk." The man who was sitting beside me said the most obvious thing. I put my hand out, waiting for the bartender to hand me another shot, but it never came.

"Hey! I want more! Do you want more, D?" You slowly turn to Daisy, who's already laid her hand on the table, completely drunk. "You're such a twat!" I rolled my eyes at her.

"DAISY! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" I leaned to her ear. Instead of answering, she pushed my face away. "Loser." I hissed before turning my attention back to the bartender.

"Hey, Louis. Lou... I WANT MORE SHOTS!" I tried to get his attention by waving like a maniac. "Lou... LOU!"

"Luna, you're drunk." The man beside me said again.

"Shut up! I'm not drunk!" I gave him my index finger signing him to be quiet. I waved at Louis, the bartender, again. "Lou... I'm here... GIVE ME MORE SHOTS!" I love alcohol.

"Still a spoilt brat, huh?" The man beside me said.

"Listen, old man. I'm no spoilt brat!" I bit my bottom lip, pissed. I slowly turned to the older man who dared to mock me. When my eyes met him, I blinked a few times. He's not an old man.

His short sandy brown hair is neatly combed, making me want to run my hands through it. God, he's fucking gorgeous. His hazel eyes are trying to hypnotize me into oblivion. I had never seen a man wearing a grey Armani suit this perfectly. It's like it's tailor-made for him. He's so perfect, and I'm hallucinating.

I blink several times at him before returning to the annoying Louis, the bartender, who loves to ignore me.

"Louis! I swear to God, if you don't give me my-"

"I was the one who told him not to." The man said bluntly. I grabbed one of the empty shot glasses in front of me, and I tapped it against the table so hard that Louis turned his attention to me after flirting with a beautiful redhead.

"Give me another shot, or I'll-"

"Luna... You're fucking drunk. Stop asking for another shot! Jesus! I can't believe I'm babysitting this spoilt brat again!" The man beside grumbled. I let out a long sigh before turning my head to him.

"Listen, annoying handsome man, and I don't know what your-" He grins at me, showing me his dimple that is perfectly placed on his left cheek.

No...

You recognize that dimple...

There's only one person who has it...

"Clyde?" It came out as a whisper, but he heard it because his eyes had darkened.

"You're fucking drunk, Luna." He said in his low and husky tone. I gulped nervously.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered, still trying to process the situation. The headache came right when I tried to differentiate between reality and a dream.

"Saving your ass, spoilt brat."

Luna Morris

I opened my eyes after dreaming about a man with a dimple on his left cheek. Turning my head to check the clock and smiled, seeing that it was already 9 in the morning. I can hear the coffee machine outside, so it means Daisy is up and awake now.

I got out of bed, opening the door like a mad woman, ready to rant everything to her.

"D, you won't believe- AAAAAAAA!" I screamed when I saw Clyde standing in my kitchen with a cup of coffee. He's looking at you like he owns the place. I even pinched myself to see if this was a dream or reality.

Clyde Nielsen is standing in my kitchen with all his glory, still in his grey Armani suit, looking like a hot model ready for a photo shoot. His hair was messy compared to last night, but that's about it. He's still as handsome as I remembered.

"Where's Daisy?" I asked him in a careful tone as I walked toward my sofa. I don't want to make eye contact with him, he's intimidating, and last time, I remembered, our relationship ended tragically

"She's at her apartment." He's stating the obvious and thanking God she got home safely.

What now? I don't want to talk to him, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't either. Not to mention, I don't want to ask how he knows that I'm in Seattle and how the heck did I give him my address, ideally, knowing I'm still struggling to remember it.

Our relationship, or should I say our friendship ended so badly that I swore I didn't want to see him again. Back then, I wanted to ask him many questions, but now, I don't want to know about him at all.

Seeing him again was something that I would never have thought about. I thought we would never cross paths again, I did think he would live somewhere in America, but Seattle was not on that list. I thought he would live in New York or maybe Los Angeles.

"You can go once you're done with your coffee." I planned to go straight to my bedroom and wait for him to go. I gave him one last look before getting up from the sofa, but Clyde seemed not to listen to what I had just said.

His eyes fell on my painting right behind me. He was looking at it, and I could feel he was judging it. His hazel eyes followed the texture, and he smirked after checking it out.

"I don't want you here. Get out," I said loud enough for him to hear, but his eyes were still stuck on the painting.

"Gerald mentioned that you're a painter now." I clenched my jaw upon hearing my grandfather's name. He told Clyde about me being here, didn't he?

"I said... Get out of my apartment." Instead of turning to you, he walked toward the painting, completely fascinated by it like it's some Seven Wonders of the World.

No, he's standing beside you, looking at the painting up close.

"What are you doing?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"I thought you love to paint butterflies and scenery, and I never thought you would paint an abstract filled with anger like this." My jaw dropped.

I turned to see the painting, and from what other people saw, it was just an abstract painting filled with black, grey, and purple paint. Even Daisy said it's a beautiful abstract.

But how did he know that this painting was filled with anger? Am I too obvious now? Is my painting starting to lose its hidden meaning?

I turned to Clyde, who was now crossing his arms in front of his chest, still looking at the painting.

"That's enough! I said get out!" I turned his body around and tried to push him, but he stood there like a statue. No matter how hard I pushed him, he's not budging.

"Clyde!"

"Yes, butterfly?" I froze in place when he called me by the nickname that he gave me.

"Get out!"

"Gerald sent me to see if you're okay. He's worried about you." He said as he turned his body to me. I almost fell since he turned around so suddenly. "Well, I'm doing fine since you've already checked. Please leave." I put my hand put pointing at the door.

"Why are you here?" He asked like it's suddenly his business to know why I'm in Seattle.

"Why are you here?" I asked him back with the same questioning tone, causing him to furrow his eyebrows.

"Leave!" I tilted my head to the door, and he took a step when the door busted open, revealing Daisy, who was freaking out.

"Luna! What the- who-" Daisy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Her eyes were staring straight at Clyde, who looked at her confused. Daisy closed the door slowly and walked towards me. She held my hand tightly, but her eyes were still looking at Clyde, who just stood there with his hands in his pockets.

"I told you to get a boyfriend, not to rail Seattle's most eligible bachelor. How did you rail him?" She whispered but loud enough for Clyde to hear.

"Leave, Clyde. Tell my grandfather that I'm fine." His eyes set on me before giving me a nod. "I'll see you around, Butterfly. It's good to see you again." He said without any expression. He's given me a poker face since I found him in my kitchen.

"I can't say the same to you, don't ever show yourself in front of me again, or else I'll get a restraining order on you." Daisy gripped my hand so tightly, signaling me to stop talking. Clyde nodded and walked towards the door.

I watched him holding onto the door knob. He turned his face sideways, "Welcome to Seattle, Luna. I'll be checking on you once in a while since you'll most likely be acting like a spoilt brat." He smirked and walked out the door.

"Are you fucking insane?!" Daisy screamed at me.

Luna Morris

"Why didn't you tell me that you know Clyde Nielsen?" Ever since Clyde left, Daisy couldn't stop asking about Clyde. I shook my head, letting her know I didn't want to discuss him.

Not now, not later, and certainly not ever.

"Fine. Fine, I'll stop..." Daisy shut her mouth briefly and then, "Do you know who he is, though?"

"Daisy, I don't want to know," I said as I walked towards the fridge, taking a jug of cold water. Daisy was pouting as she threw herself onto the sofa. She's looking at you, annoyed.

"He called you butterfly." She said, mumbling, but it was enough for me to hear her. You poured the water into a glass and took a couple of sips.

"Drop it," I said, and she pouted again. Still holding my glass of water, I walked toward the sofa and sat beside her.

"I'm curious..." She whispered, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "He was my childhood friend, our friendship ended decades ago. Since then, I swore not to appear in front of him again."

"Well... You should have told me before you move here." She said in a careful tone which made you so curious.

"Why? What do you mean?" Daisy sat up straight, and she even put your glass of water on the table. "He rules Seattle, not only Seattle, from what I've heard."

"Okay."

"Okay?!" She raised her voice,

"I don't care. I swore not to appear in front of him again, so... Whatever information about him that you have, it won't bother my stay in Seattle." I said confidently.

"Suit yourself." She said, and not long after, she left my apartment to rest. I showered, ate lunch, and locked myself in my dark room to create more art. I sat before my blank canvas, thinking about what I should smudge first, but suddenly my head went blank.

Usually, I always have something in my head for inspiration. Either it's a shot glass, a dollar I saw on the street, or perhaps a sidewalk.

Nothing.

My mind is empty.

My phone rang, and it was none other than my grandfather. I picked up the call and put it on speaker. "Hello, Gerald," I said in an annoyed tone. I can't believe he told Clyde about my well-being here.

"What did I do?" He asked in a confused tone.

"What do you mean what did you do?" I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "You told Clyde about me being here in Seattle, grandfather." There's silence between us for a few seconds.

"I only told Nikolas about it, and I never thought he would tell Clyde." Of course.

"Well, he found me." I sighed as I grabbed my phone, walking out of the room. "Tell Nikolas that his grandson needs to stop being a creep."

"He's being a creep? That twat!" Grandfather hissed as I walked towards the glass window, looking at the busy street filled with people.

"I just hope that I won't see him again." My phone vibrated, and my finger slid down the screen to check. "Don't be like that, Luna. He was just a little kid back then. People change, and I think he's trying to make it up to you."

It's an unknown number.

A security team will come tomorrow morning to install some cameras and have an inspection around the apartment. The apartment you live in now had a creep who got caught breaking in and installing hidden cameras everywhere.

- C.N

"He just texted me, and I don't know how he got my number." I hissed. "What did he say?" Grandfather asked curiously, and his tone told me that he was excited.

"He's sending a security team to install cameras around my apartment." I'm not thrilled. I know he's doing all this out of guilt, but I don't need him to be around me or have a casual Saturday texting each other.

I texted, "Mind your business and tell them not to come. I can take care of myself."

"He's being nice, Luna. You can't hate him forever, and it's been over 15 years." He's right. I know he's right, but I can't let it go. Not that easy when all I did was want to be by his side.

"Please tell Nikolas I don't want him to show his face again."

"Fine, I let him know, but you should give him a chance to talk, to explain what exactly happened that day." That is not happening, and I don't want to hear any excuses from his mouth.

"I'll think about it." When pigs fly.

"You can continue whatever you're doing, and I'm just checking on you. Stay safe, my brightest moon." I smiled, "I will, and I love you." I said. "I love you too."

After I ended the call, I checked the message from Clyde again. I changed his name to Annoying C, and I was so proud that I giggled like a high school girl.

The phone rang, and I picked it up right away, thinking that Grandfather might have forgotten to ask me if I had breakfast or not.

"Are you calling me to ask if I ate or not?" I asked so casually that my whole body turned into ice. "I was going to tell you that the security team is coming now, but you might as well tell me. Have you eaten?" It's Clyde.

"Clyde, I have told you once that day. That I don't want you to appear in front of me again, that includes minding your own business and never calling me again! If you call me again, I'm getting a restraining order on you." I was pissed. No, correction to that. I'm furious that he's not taking my words seriously.

The doorbell rang, and I walked towards the door, revealing all the staff from the security company. There were 5 of them, and they gave me their biggest smile.

"Good afternoon, Ms.Morris. Mr.Nielsen sent us-"

"I'm actually on a call with Mr.Nielsen, and I'm not doing this. You can go home." I said bluntly, and they looked at each other before looking straight at me like they were begging to work.

"Sending them home will cost them their job. Let them in, Luna." He said in a serious tone.

"I told you that I-" Before I could say something, the staff warned me not to defy him. I looked at them, confused, and decided to let them go in.

"Good."

"After this, don't get involved again! Let's live like we never knew each other." I said confidently, hoping that he would stop trying to talk to you.

"What do you mean? We're just getting started, butterfly."